When regional military governors went to the capital for an imperial audience, there were generally two kinds: those who brought a lot of people, and those who brought an awful lot of people.
With the strength of a single domain, Qingming had repelled the Shaman Clan to the west, absorbed Western Jin to the east, and toppled the Lu clan—one of the thirteen prominent clans. This was the first time such a feat had occurred in a thousand years.
Therefore, after Wei Yuan announced that he was going to the capital for an imperial audience, the newly appointed military governors suddenly found their feet weighed down, and their assumption of office was delayed indefinitely.
Everyone under heaven was waiting for Wei Yuan's next move, and he did not disappoint, promptly releasing the route he would take for the imperial audience.
This route first went north directly to the ancestral lands of the Lu clan, then headed east to cross the entire Eastern Jin and reach Northern Qi. After making a loop through Northern Qi, it turned southwest into Southern Jin, reached the Jin-Zhao border, and turned again to head southeast into the State of Song. After making a circuit through Song, it finally arrived at the territory of the Tang dynasty.
The route twisted and looped back and forth. When busybodies traced it on a map, they discovered the total journey exceeded two million li. Even calculating by the pace of elite light cavalry, it would take at least several decades to complete.
Thus, the realm was in an uproar. Some caught on: Wei Yuan was planning to plow straight through several states. Moreover, judging by the precedent of Western Jin, Wei Yuan had no intention of touching the royal houses of the various nations, yet he was utterly ruthless toward noble clans, and he now possessed the means to slay immortals. If he truly finished this journey, a few more prominent aristocratic families would likely be wiped out.
Well-informed senior cultivators noticed that Wei Yuan's targets were likely the Xu family of Eastern Jin, the Xu family of Northern Qi, the Yan-Chen Cui family of Southern Jin, and the Qinghe Cui family of the State of Song—all four having participated in the ambush to besiege and kill him back then. There was also the Bao family, but they were far off in the State of Wu to the southeast, diagonally opposite Qingming. To reach Wu, one would have to pass through Southern Qi first.
After Wei Yuan published the route for his journey to the capital, he tossed the matter to the back of his mind. He immersed himself in cultivation within Qingming, harboring no intention of stepping foot outside, not even visiting Yizhou.
By now, Qingming's cultivator training system had been established. The first entrance examination covering children across the entirety of Qingming was complete. The children taking the test were between the ages of five and ten, numbering over twenty million in total.
Because there were simply too many children, the testing took a full month from start to finish. When the preliminary screening concluded, children suitable for Body Casting remarkably accounted for half the total—over ten million.
These children were basically born and raised in Qingming. Since birth, they had never gone hungry, nor had they lacked meat. With stable lives, plenty of food and drink, and the nourishment of the Jianmu life-mystic power within the Qingming domain, these children were generally tall and sturdy, standing at least more than half a head taller than their peers in the nine states.
Robust, tall, and strapping, these children were naturally prime seeds for Body Casting. During the mortal Body Casting stage, so long as one was not practicing a specialized cultivation method, the demand for spiritual qi was actually not high; rather, adequate meat and grain were essential to replenish the body's consumption.
Under normal circumstances in the nine states, only about one person in a thousand could achieve Body Casting. In powerful states like Zhao and Southern Qi, the proportion was somewhat higher, whereas in misgoverned, war-torn regions like Western Jin and the State of Ji, it was considerably lower.
The entire State of Zhao had only around ten million Body Casting cultivators, fewer than the children identified in this single Qingming screening. And this was only Qingming; Yizhou now had thirty million people as well, with a million children born each year.
Among the children suited for Body Casting, about thirty percent would eventually cultivate to Body Casting mastery. Then, based on Qingming's current rate, forty percent of those would become template Dao foundations.
Thus, after this grand screening examination, Wei Yuan saw more than a million future template Dao foundations.
Moreover, the newly born infants had even better aptitudes than this batch. Roughly every ten years, the aptitude of newborns would step up to another level. Once this generation grew up, the offspring they bore would only possess even greater potential.
With so many gifted children, the cultivator academies originally prepared were completely inadequate. Wei Yuan made urgent adjustments, establishing over a hundred new Qingming Higher Vocational Daoist Cultivation Academies dedicated to producing template Dao foundations. In this way, over ten thousand or even tens of thousands of children were packed into each new academy, with a single instructor responsible for several hundred or even a thousand students. Only then could all the suitable children barely be accommodated.
With the widespread adoption of template Dao foundations across all trades and industries, a dedicated term emerged: the Dao foundation hour. The Dao foundation hour was specifically used to measure workloads on major projects. A so-called Dao foundation hour was the workload performed by one template Dao foundation working earnestly for one shichen.
The Dao foundation hour quickly spread and became standard. For instance, a newly advanced template Dao foundation needed at least eight Dao foundation hours each day to consolidate their Dao foundation. This was fundamental to a cultivator, ideally requiring ten Dao foundation hours or more.
Many positions that offered pay and merit points operated on a basic six-Dao-foundation-hour workday. However, these six Dao foundation hours referred to actual working time; any slacking off or cutting corners would not be counted toward effective working hours.
In this manner, Wei Yuan amended Qingming's systems bit by bit. Every minor change was like a pebble tossed into water, sending ripples across the entire surface.
...
A flying boat slowly touched down in Qingming. As the hatch opened, Li Zhi stepped out.
Cultivators were already waiting and led Li Zhi into the immortal city. Moments later, Li Zhi sat in the reception hall. Seeing the figure that appeared at the doorway, his hand paused slightly. Then, as if nothing had happened, he took a sip of tea, set down the teacup, and rose to offer his greetings.
Zhang Sheng nodded to Li Zhi and took her seat at the head of the room.
Li Zhi subconsciously sat up straighter. Before Zhang Sheng, he always wished to leave the best impression. But today, for reasons he could not explain, an innate shudder rose from deep within him, impossible to suppress no matter how hard he tried.
Li Zhi started in sudden shock and asked, "You... you've already attained Scenery Command?!"
Zhang Sheng replied calmly, "It was to be expected."
Li Zhi forced down the shock in his heart. It was not that Zhang Sheng's breakthrough to Scenery Command was unbelievable, but rather that the invisible pressure she exerted on him was simply too immense. Li Zhi's Dao power could barely circulate at this moment, and he had to exert every effort to suppress his heartbeat and breathing just to keep them steady.
This was an instinctual trembling of Li Zhi's Dharma body. Not even a shred of fighting intent arose—he only wished to get as far away as possible.
Li Zhi was inwardly terrified, yet maintained an impassive exterior. This was due to a unique divine ability of his, kept secret from others, which allowed him to vaguely sense another's true strength; typically, the stronger the opponent, the fiercer his own fighting spirit grew, rising to meet any challenge. Yet now, merely sensing a faint trace of Zhang Sheng's aura, Li Zhi's body wanted to flee on its own. This was a reaction he had never experienced even when facing an immortal.
Li Zhi took a deep breath and said, "I made this trip specifically because perplexing questions weigh heavily on my mind. Thus, I came especially to ask Master Zhang to resolve my doubts."
"Speak."
Li Zhi said, "Years ago, I raised troops and took six commanderies in southwestern Ji, and have been putting the territory in order ever since, allowing the people respite. Today, the Zhenshan Fief enjoys flourishing livelihoods, elite soldiers, and ample generals. Yet just beyond our borders, the common people of Ji still suffer in dire misery. Corrupt officials lord over them, thinking from top to bottom only of squeezing the people dry, reducing them to utter destitution.
"Back then, I had an agreement with Brother Wei to take only these commanderies. But the situation now differs from back then. Watching the people suffer while incompetent men sit securely in high positions is truly unbearable to me! In such circumstances, how should I respond?"
Zhang Sheng asked, "Where do you intend to place the King of Ji?"
Li Zhi was well-prepared. Without hesitation, he pointed upward and said, "Enshrine him up top as a figurehead."
Zhang Sheng gave a slight nod. "You worry too much. That is both good and bad. When hard-pressed to make a decision, simply walk straight upon the Grand Dao."
Li Zhi's spirits lifted. "I understand. I'll go speak with Brother Wei at once."
"Go."
Taking his leave of Zhang Sheng, half a day later Li Zhi found Wei Yuan in the Medicine Garden, staring intently at a patch of floating earth.
"Come with me. I'll take you to see something." Brooking no argument, Li Zhi grabbed Wei Yuan to leave.
"Where to?"
"Northern Qi."
Chapter 1162